The standard for wastewater and sludge testing

Large amounts of freshwater are often used to manufacture and process apparel, textile and footwear products. At the end of the production line, wastewater gets released. If that's not properly treated, it poses a threat to the environment and human health. 

Making wastewater cleaner has generally been a big task for every brand and supplier involved. ZDHC encourages the industry to take a collaborative approach in tackling challenges, as part of a joint ambition to improve the quality of discharged wastewater and sludge.  

Together with leading brands, suppliers, academia, testing laboratories, technology providers, and other stakeholders, we created comprehensive, unified ZDHC Wastewater Guidelines. These Guidelines provide a harmonised set of wastewater and sludge parameters, limit values and test methods. They help brands and suppliers work to the same set of expectations.

These are the first guidelines to define pass and fail criteria for hazardous chemicals covered in the ZDHC MRSL. The standards in these guidelines cover conventional wastewater parameters while also going beyond regulatory compliance.

For suppliers wishing to share the outcome of testing with multiple brands, the ZDHC Gateway – Wastewater Module makes that entire process easier. The Gateway is a global web-based platform for sharing verified data on wastewater and sludge testing.